Friday, November 23, 2007 at 1:01am
Black Friday
Column: For His Glory
The day after Thanksgiving is normally known as "Black Friday." Do you know why? Because on Black Friday, with the amount of holiday shopping that takes place, theoretically all the stores that were running in the "red," meaning losing money, begin to make a profit. Therefore, it turns out that Black Friday has to do with profit and loss, just like any other business day.
So what are you planning on buying? Or better yet, how did you participate in Black Friday? Did you know that, according to Wikipedia, the term "Black Friday" began in the 1970s? The news media began using the term to signify all the traffic the Friday after Thanksgiving produced along with the business analogy of making a profit. Yet, in reality, there was another black Friday that has had a more profound meaning for you and me.
You see, over 2,000 years ago there was a Friday afternoon that turned black. "At the sixth hour darkness came over the whole land until the ninth hour" (Mark 15:33). This darkness signified how low humanity had fallen. The darkness was so thick that people felt that the wrath of God was going to consume them, and rightfully so. Not only was the sky darkened but their spirits were in the dark as they recognized they had crucified an innocent man (cf. Luke 23:47). "And when all the crowd that came to see the crucifixion saw what had happened, they went home in deep sorrow" (Luke 23:48).
What was the impact of that long-ago Black Friday on your life and mine? What possible significance can that day have for those of us living 2,000 years later? It has all the meaning in the world. You see, on that day, on that Black Friday, humanity went from the "red" to the black of making a "profit." By that I mean, as sinful and depraved as we are, the cross is the reality that man can be saved by the power of Jesus Christ. All that we owed and could not repay was paid by the death of God's own Son Jesus when He hung on that tree. Your life, my life that was destined to destruction is now given the key to eternal reward, because on that Black Friday Jesus balanced the ledger and made our lives acceptable unto the Father. What a gift, what a day, what light, what a Friday, what hope.
Therefore, every time I hear the term "Black Friday" during this Thanksgiving season, I am reminded of a dark day 2,000 years ago when the God of the universe died for me. He saved me, He guides me, He comforts me, He loves me, He yearns for Me, He saves me, and one day He will come back to take me back with Him. He did it all that Black Friday, and the "red" of my loss was washed away by the red of His blood. Praise the Lord for Black Friday.
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Gio Marin is the pastor of the College Station and Waller Seventh-day Adventist Church in the state of Texas. He is currently working on a master of divinity degree at Andrews Seventh-day Adventist Theological Seminary, with a dual emphasis on systematic theology and church growth & evangelism. Send him an email at {email GioMarinColumn@aol.com}GioMarinColumn@aol.com{/email}. © Copyright 2007 by Gio Marin.
So what are you planning on buying? Or better yet, how did you participate in Black Friday? Did you know that, according to Wikipedia, the term "Black Friday" began in the 1970s? The news media began using the term to signify all the traffic the Friday after Thanksgiving produced along with the business analogy of making a profit. Yet, in reality, there was another black Friday that has had a more profound meaning for you and me.
You see, over 2,000 years ago there was a Friday afternoon that turned black. "At the sixth hour darkness came over the whole land until the ninth hour" (Mark 15:33). This darkness signified how low humanity had fallen. The darkness was so thick that people felt that the wrath of God was going to consume them, and rightfully so. Not only was the sky darkened but their spirits were in the dark as they recognized they had crucified an innocent man (cf. Luke 23:47). "And when all the crowd that came to see the crucifixion saw what had happened, they went home in deep sorrow" (Luke 23:48).
What was the impact of that long-ago Black Friday on your life and mine? What possible significance can that day have for those of us living 2,000 years later? It has all the meaning in the world. You see, on that day, on that Black Friday, humanity went from the "red" to the black of making a "profit." By that I mean, as sinful and depraved as we are, the cross is the reality that man can be saved by the power of Jesus Christ. All that we owed and could not repay was paid by the death of God's own Son Jesus when He hung on that tree. Your life, my life that was destined to destruction is now given the key to eternal reward, because on that Black Friday Jesus balanced the ledger and made our lives acceptable unto the Father. What a gift, what a day, what light, what a Friday, what hope.
Therefore, every time I hear the term "Black Friday" during this Thanksgiving season, I am reminded of a dark day 2,000 years ago when the God of the universe died for me. He saved me, He guides me, He comforts me, He loves me, He yearns for Me, He saves me, and one day He will come back to take me back with Him. He did it all that Black Friday, and the "red" of my loss was washed away by the red of His blood. Praise the Lord for Black Friday.
— — —
Gio Marin is the pastor of the College Station and Waller Seventh-day Adventist Church in the state of Texas. He is currently working on a master of divinity degree at Andrews Seventh-day Adventist Theological Seminary, with a dual emphasis on systematic theology and church growth & evangelism. Send him an email at {email GioMarinColumn@aol.com}GioMarinColumn@aol.com{/email}. © Copyright 2007 by Gio Marin.